What is Wave Money and why is Yoma bullish despite a tumultuous year?

Singapore

YOMA Strategic is deepening its investment in Wave Money, a prominent fintech in Myanmar, close to a year since the country's tech scene was throttled by the military coup.

On Monday (Jan 17), the mainboard-listed company announced that its unit, Yoma MFS Holdings (YMFS), will purchase 51 per cent of Wave Money from Telenor Group for US$53 million. This completes a divestment process that was announced in June 2020.

Yoma Strategic owns 44 per cent of Wave Money as of Monday. A series of planned transactions would raise its effective interest in the fintech to at least 70 per cent.

What is Wave Money?

Wave Money is a mobile financial services provider in Myanmar, operating the e-wallet WavePay. It has a network of over 45,000 agents, or "Wa…